We’ve all seen the myriad of articles that proclaim more or less that you are financially independent if you have income by which you can sustain your quality of life even if you stop working. In other words, if you have enough passive income that doesn’t depend on your employment status.
While that’s true, let’s review some additional signs that might surprise you.
1. You are not obsessed with money.
Financially independent people don’t work for money. They work for a greater cause. For them, money is the outcome of their work or, if they don’t work, just a resource for a greater goal. In all cases, they are not obsessed with money.
If you are obsessed with money, you might even be rich, but you are not independent.
2. They think proactively about the future.
In addition to not being obsessed with money, financially independent people think proactively about the future.
They use digital inheritance services for the protection of their assets and to ensure their families are financially secure, they have asset management plans in place, and they have a sound understanding of the various types of insurance policies and use them to their advantage.
They broaden their passive income through various means such as:
- investing in start-up companies,
- owning shares in them,
- having investment portfolios,
- and buying company stocks.
3. Spending quality time with their families.
Financially independent people spend quality time with their families. For them, money is just a resource that they manage or hire someone to manage for them. But they know that spending quality time with their loved ones is priceless, and in contrast to money, you can never win it back.
You’ll never get another chance to be with your son on his 1st birthday or to be with your daughter on her first day at school.
Financially independent people know the value of these moments, and they make sure they spend enough quality time with their families.
They don’t trade off moments with their families for money. They earn money even while they spend quality time with their loved ones.
4. They invest in others.
Yes, financially independent people know that one of the biggest satisfactions in life is to help and grow other people. They make sure they do this consistently. They invest in companies – through direct investment or stock buying – or in individuals – through mentoring, support, networking, and providing opportunities for growth.
5. For them debt is OK. Really.
We’ve all heard that financially independent people don’t owe money to banks or other institutions. That couldn’t be more wrong. Financially independent people choose whether they want to have debt. Yes, they are not forced to get into debt by factors such as a lack of money. They choose whether to take on debt, based on their own assessment. And they might decide to take debt in certain situations based on various considerations such as cost structure, taxation or the cost of capital.
